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Blogtalk: Harry Reid and the ‘Lost’ War

By Michael McElroy April 20, 2007 7:32 pmApril 20, 2007 7:32 pm

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, told reporters, his fellow senators and President Bush himself that the war in Iraq “is lost,” prompting loud objections from conservative lawmakers and politicians. (And from the White House, which issued a series of statements today that had been made by Mr. Reid, block by block, against statements made by Mr. Bush and General David Petraeus. Naturally, bloggers joined the fray.

“First of all, if America has lost the war, then who won it? Al-Qaeda. Now, if the war is lost, why is it lost? Obviously Al-Qaeda and the other terrorists aren’t capable of defeating us militarily … so, if we lose in Iraq, it will be because we couldn’t take the heat and surrendered to Al-Qaeda.”

Jeff Emanuel at Redstate echoed popular conservative sentiment that the Senator’s words would “embolden the enemy.”

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s pronouncement yesterday that “the war is lost” was made solely to Congress and to the American people, right? I mean, it’s not like our enemies actually care or pay attention to what is said by those in leadership positions in our government (such as BushLied, US troops are Nazi storm troopers, etc., etc.) — right?

Mr. Emanuel, then citing coverage of the story in Al Jazeera and Iranian press , answered himself.
“Oops.”

“Here’s a hint: it may not be your “friends” who are listening the closest, or taking the most heart from what you have to say. Not that that’ll make you think before speaking, of course.”

“All this is about the worst message to send … the thousands still arriving to secure the country — that they must worry not only about their guns and supplies being rationed as funding is
stalled, but also expect soon a motion to send them all home in acknowledged defeat, as Iraq becomes the (petrol-fed) replacement for the Taliban’s Afghanistan as the new sanctuary for those now bombing and killing innocents from Algeria to Somalia.”

Left leaning blogs, however, said the senator’s views reflected those of the majority of the American public.

The CarpetBagger Report said that perceived double-speak in Mr. Reid’s statements – that the war is lost but “can only be won diplomatically, politically and economically,” – provided context not contradiction.

“some have suggested there’s a bit of a contradiction here … Either the war is over or it’s not. That’s fair enough, but I think Reid’s point was that it’s not too early to label the existing war policy a failure. Bush’s efforts, with the war in its fifth year, have come up short. The president’s way lost; now it’s time to try and win another way. This appears to be what Reid was trying to say. Given the right’s reaction, you’d think Reid had joined the Osama bin Laden Fan Club.”

Think Progress defended Senator Reid, arguing that he was not the only high-level person to express the view that the military efforts in Iraq had run their course.

The blog cited examples of similar statements by Henry Kissinger and retired generals.

“What Kissinger … and Reid understand is that the mission in Iraq has changed. The United States is now stuck in the middle of a civil war to which there is no military solution, only a political one. As Reid said later: ‘there is still a chance to change course — and we must change course.’ ”

And what is the political solution? Negotiate with Iran and Syria, two countries that would like to see us totally fail in the Middle East? Or maybe negotiate with Mr. Sadr who also would love to see us fail? Maybe we could just make him dictator, and let him take out the Sunnis and let Iran control the country. Who in the middle east could provide a solution for this? One possibility is for a multinational force of Islamic countries. But why would any country volunteer for that. The US will to stick it out is lost.

Cheney was right in ’91 when he argued Poppy Bush’s position that to topple Saddam would lead to chaos we would be responsible for. Kind of like a bull in a pottery barn. You know the rules: “You break it, you bought it.” Well, 43 broke it, and now WE own it. A broken country dependent on what, $8 bil per month? of US military intervention, to achieve… daily bombings and an ever increasing rate of violence in the country? Neoconservatism should be given a decent burial, and we should start to try to find a way out of Iraq. Start telling the generals NOW.

I never thought Bush 41 would look so pragmatic and knowledgeable in hindsight. Ah, the days before this discredited ideology existed…

Harry Reid has to be working for Osama bin Laden. He should be put on trial for treason. These are the people running our country and that’s scary!!! At the risk of being “disappeared”, Clinton running for President is even more frightening. This country has no political backbone at all…

Your comments on Harry Reid’s comment “the war is lost” are right on target. He is doing the back shuffle to change what he said but unfortunately his true feelings are out in the open. It’s evident that a majority of today’s Democrats do not understand the global war on terror we face and will stop at nothing to regain their power in 2008.

Hopefully the American people will see them for who they are and the danger they represent before the election in 2008.

Enough is enough!! It is quite obvious that, the Bush & his “buddy” system group has caused us much trouble. Everybody just seems to neglect the enormous problems we have created for our future upbringing of children & grand children. The time has come to change course and, possibly get rid of Bush!

Harry Reid has stabbed the soldiers in Iraq right to the heart. How unconscionable! Would anyone like to be told if they were wearing the uniform that all was lost. Harry Reid, the Las Vegas profiteer, land speculator, should be hung in the halls of the Senate. Shame on him. SHAME SHAMESha me on him for undermining the troops, but what can you expect from this crony of the land profiteers. FAke, Fake that he is. And he is the senate majority leader!!! My heart weeps for this nation.

Harry Reid undermining the troops while the nation is at war. Reid should and ought to know better. What a sorry, deplorable, insensitive representative for the Democratic party. We deserve to be defeated for electing such low caliber representatives.

Senator Reid is right that the war is lost. It was lost before it ever began. Somebody should have told Bush that he could not win, that there was nothing to gain. If Bush really wanted to fight terror, he would have stayed in Afghanistan and go after Osama bin Laden. Instead he has turned Iraq into a recruitment center for terrorists. That’s the way to do, George. I hope Americans will take voting more seriously in the next election. Bush had no skills to be president. Reid is right in saying that it a civil war, and it is one that Bush created. Realistically, I do not know how the U.S. can pull out completely. I do not think that we can have a complete withdrawal. I will always take solace in the fact that I voted for Gore and Kerry.

I think that Mr. Reed has done the U. S. and all the military a big disservice in his statements. He has given aid and comfort to the enemy, who is not fighting a regular war but that of terrorism against everyone to include their own people. I feel that Mr. Reed should resign from Congress and be tried as a traitor against the United States. What and who gave him authority to spout such garbage anyway.

yeah, there’s going to be a bloodbath, and all the dominos will topple, and this will embolden the enemy, and if we don’t fight them over there, we’ll be fighting them over here, and we’ll have the boys home by christmas, and i can see light at the end of the tunnel.

is there anybody who still thinks anything tortuously defined as “victory” is still within America’s grasp in Iraq?

Reid perceives there’s no possibility for victory, and he speaks his mind clearly and candidly. give the guy a medal from true american patriotism and let’s follow his leadership to end this debacle immediately.

On the other hand, if the body politic wants to use Reid as a lightning rod, the war in Iraq will go on and on and on — until the Iraq War Memorial has 59,000 names on it, like the Vietnam War Memorial.

There is a bit of truth in what Senator Reid said. the truth is that we won the battle (toppling and ousting Sadam)but lost the war (creating a democratic Iraq). However, teh blame for the latter must lie quarely on the shoulders of the media and those that want our soldiers to fight a “clean” war. One in which even single civilian casualties are touted as dastardly deeds by US troops. Our troops are not fighting the way they were taught to fight. Their hands are tied by the politically correct enviroment. You think Patton would have fought this war this way? Of course not. He would have gone in and destroyed ANY and EVERY area from where our troops were being fired upon, irrespective of whether there were civilian casualties. We see Al Sadr walking with his supporters along the streets and inciting them to fight our troops. Well as soon as we know where he is out in the streets we should obliterate the entire street with missiles or bombs. The only thing that these people know AND RESPECT is POWER. if you try to negotiate with them, try to understand why they do what they do the message in their way of thinking is that you are a coward and afraid to fight and so want to settle it by talking. I know how the folks in the middle east think. I have lived among them.
So Senator Reid and all those that are talking ot a pull-out, of negotiations, and dialogue should hang their head in shame. They are betraying our brave soldiers for their own political benefit. Their words give encouragement to the enemy and anyone that gives aid and comfort to the enemy (verbal or material) IS A TRAITOR!
Remember forlks that it is because of what our brave men and women are doing in Iraq and the world at large that we can sit on our rotund rears and spout anything we want.
May God Bless and protect those that put their lives on the line for us.

this is a sad time in the life of this great nation when the majority of one political party is relying on and actively constructing a plan to bring about failure of our military in the conduct of the war in Iraq. this party is confident that this plan will ensure success at the polls in coming elections. I find it inconceivable that one political party can embrace such a plan and continue to use the tired phrase of how they oppose the war, but support the troops. Korea in 1951 and Viet Nam in 1966 where I enjoyed this same support makes me more than a little skeptical regarding their motives. I hope this nation can survive the current congress, but I’m not sure it has the resolve to succeed.

nobody will totally win a war on terrorism. it will never be possible to run a headline of TERRORISM DEFEATED–VICTORY OVER TERRORISM.there is not an “end” to terrorism because no one can ever predict who, why, when, how or where it will happen. if bush wanted to win a war on terrorism, he should not have declared war on an impossiblity

Harry Reid needs to consider the effect of his remarks on those who have given so much and are still trying so hard to win this war. Remarks such as his may be good for political blogs and tv but they are not helpful to those getting shot at in Iraq.

The ignorance of those that are supposed to report the news to us common folk appals me. seems like Joe Biden needs to say something controversial to get some headlines, rather than what he’s been doing, that being actually having a plan for Iraq that is neither a total withdrawal nor a troop surge. Instead we get to read about congressional semantics, and that hard-hitting story about Barack Obama calling for Don Imus to get fired. I’m starting to think that we as a nation have just gotten to dumb and no longer deserve to vote anymore.

After being a Democrat for the past 25 years, I’m going to the County Clerk’s office monday morning and change my registration. Mr. Reid is completely out of touch with mainstream America and should be run out of Washington ASAP. I’m embarassed by his stupid remarks and embarassed to be a Democrat. If my (former) party can’t do anything about him then I’m joining the other side. GO BACK TO NEVADA HARRY!

This is not a war against terrorism.
This is not a war to defend “our way of life”.
This is a war seeking profits and power.
Firstly the “war industry” profits then the it will be the “Oil companies’ ” turn.

Do you people actually believe that when we pull out our troops and yell “the war’s over” that those people that have no problem blowing up innocent women and children and blow themselves up for a “cause” and torture and behead their own people are actually going to yell “OK… yeah, you’re RIGHT, the war IS over!!!” …and go about their business as if nothing ever happened… don’t you understand??? …martyrdom and torture and killing innocents IS THEIR BUSINESS!!! This is their “CAUSE” and it will not stay over there!!
If you people actually believe that they are not “pure evil” and are not getting stronger as we tell them that we will not finish what we start and that now “we just want to be friends”… you people might as well just ‘bend over and kiss you “arses” goodbye’!!! Who do you think is going to protect you… our “defeated armed forces”??? Maybe you people ought to come to your senses and support these incredible americans in our armed forces that are willing to give their lives for “you people” and this country!!! Oh, and by the way… they don’t plan on losing…. they are fighting to win!!!
God Bless Our Troops!!!!

President Obama drew criticism on Thursday when he said, “we don’t have a strategy yet,” for military action against ISIS in Syria. Lawmakers will weigh in on Mr. Obama’s comments on the Sunday shows.Read more…